Trumpeter Swans are the largest native waterfowl in North America so it is no surprise that they need up to a hundred yards of water to taxi and takeoff. They typically bob their heads up and down and honk a bit right before they are ready to go, and these two swans in McHenry County, Illinois were no exception in early March as I watched them gather at the north end of the lake so they could take off into the south wind.
Once they decided it was time, they bowed their necks into an S-shape, pushed themselves up and started flapping their wings and slapping their feet against the water driving them up and forward. Once they created enough speed of around 13 mph where lift cancels out gravity altogether, they tucked their landing gear underneath their tails and off they went.
This image shows the trumpeters as they were on their last slaps of the water with their feet before they entered full flight mode. They were just beautiful as they flapped those big wings and glided along the top of the water before they gained some altitude and then banked into the evening sun. There will be images of these graceful creatures in flight in a follow-up post.
Check out the videos below for more details on how swans takeoff. The video from PBS shows tundra swans taking off, but it is one of the coolest videos with great details about how swans takeoff from the water.
Featured Products
